How to Explore Xi'an? Visit Royal Gardens and Trendy Districts with Tiger Sister

Terracotta Warriors and roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) are probably most people's first impressions of Xi'an. But Xi'an, as the ancient capital of thirteen dynasties, the starting point of the Silk Road, and the largest city in northwest China, has far more to offer! Above ground is Xi'an, below ground lies Chang'an—the Qinling Mountains hold half of Chinese history. Every inch of this land is brimming with historical treasures.

Here is a fascinating, unique district that's absolutely worth a visit—Xi'an Quantum Chen.

Old factories transformed into trendy play spaces are super hot, and Quantum Chen is a prime example. It was once a childhood memory for every Xi'an local: the Taiyang Guoba (Sun Crispy Rice) factory. Now it has morphed into a super cool playground. Traces of the old factory are the district's signature—the iconic water tower and chimney have been completely preserved, blending retro industrial style with a modern vibe. Container structures of various shapes and glass in different colors double the cool factor against the backdrop of red brick buildings, making you want to snap nonstop photos.

Without further ado, let's follow Tiger Sister to check out the photo-worthy spots and trendy shops you shouldn't miss.

Xi'an's local streetwear brand – STAHOOD

In recent years, many streetwear brands have entered the Xi'an market, and local designer original brands have sprung up thanks to social media. STA, founded in Xi'an, has attracted a lot of fans. STA is a homegrown Xi'an street fashion brand. It gives young people from all over the country a cool spot to check out when coming to Xi'an. If you love fashion, this store is a must-visit.

The brand was founded by some Xi'an trendsetters—some are skateboarders, others are hip-hop music producers. So the designs feature plenty of street elements, using the simplest motifs to present raw street style.

The overall style is original streetwear, with pieces that trend-conscious youth love. The palette is mainly black, white, and gray. It looks simple, but the details are quite rich. Best of all, the prices are reasonable—hoodies average around 300 yuan. Both guys and girls look super cool wearing them.

I'm someone who adores vibrant colors, so I picked this asymmetrical floral shirt. I love the graffiti on it—abstract animals and plants. It seems to be a men's style, but it's totally fine for women to wear too. Isn't the boyfriend-style, 'missing bottom' look very popular now? You can even share clothes with your boyfriend occasionally.

Hats are a must-have accessory that adds points in photos. For lazy folks, throwing on a hat is a great option if you don't want to wash your hair. They have so many good-looking clothes, and what's great is you're unlikely to run into someone wearing the same outfit. When in Xi'an, be sure to check this place out.

798 Billiards Chain – S Club

It's been a long time since I went to a billiard hall. Are they all this cool now? I remember the old smoky halls with cigarette smells and flashing lights. This is a completely different kind of billiard club.

The interior is full of tech vibes, and the lady who racks the balls is very professional. There are plenty of players. When you want to relax, bring a couple of friends and head to 798 Billiards Chain – S Club Quantum Chen branch. The equipment feels top-notch: they have Josie Gold Leg and Josie Silver Leg tables, plus the 'Little Monster' break cue that only pros use. Pool lovers shouldn't miss it.

After playing, you can rest here comfortably. Even if you're accompanying your boyfriend, you won't get bored.

I've always thought girls who can play pool are cool, and indeed they are. I'd better keep practicing.

After the game, you can have tea and relax on the first floor.

Ao Chuanchuan Opened a Club – Ao Chuanchuan CLUB × ABSOLUT

Ao Chuanchuan is Xi'an people's hot pot. This chuanchuan (skewer) restaurant is very famous—it's a true local Xi'an joint. Once you see it, you can't walk away. Stepping in, you immediately feel a classiness that sets it apart from ordinary roadside chuanchuan shops. Ao Chuanchuan is indeed high-end, luxurious, and classy. The food quality is top-notch, service is excellent, and even the good-looking guys and girls dining here are easy on the eyes.

The variety of dishes at Ao Chuanchuan is dazzling, almost too many to list. All kinds of vegetables and tofu products are abundant and fresh! The meat selection is vast. Just for beef, there's spicy beef, pickled pepper beef, cilantro beef, scallion beef, fennel beef, black pepper beef, and more. Any foodie will find their favorite here.

The dual-flavor pot comes with half clear broth and half beef tallow, while the pure spicy pot is all beef tallow. The red soup boils in the pot, steam rising with mouthwatering aroma—your taste buds start to tingle.

It's time to put on some autumn fat, so dive into the meat. After eating, pass through a magical door and enter another world. The decor here is super cool, with a wide selection of drinks. Enjoying a drink after the meal is just so nice.

ZOUZHE Bar – Pick Any Global Beer

ZOUZHE Bar is located next to the water tower. A 30-meter-long liquor cabinet displays all kinds of imported beers at supermarket prices—you name it, they have it. The bar has a great sense of space, elegant yet not noisy. There's even a small game console on the tables by the window. A red pool table is perfect for both photos and games.

Girls who love taking photos can use the beer cabinet as a backdrop for some unique shots.

Craft beer set: German wheat beer, Huajian Shaonian IPA, Modu Guniang elderflower, chocolate hazelnut.

Since I rarely drink, I bought a set on a group-buying platform with friends. It cost less than 10 yuan—incredible value. Pair it with some snacks or braised bites.

Two spots Japanese food lovers must not miss – Xie Ding and Niao Kui

Xie Ding is a restaurant specializing in crab cuisine. The main ingredients are snow crab, horsehair crab, and king crab, with seven ways to enjoy one crab. Every crab is alive, and the flavor is taken to the extreme. Crab lovers, rush over!

As soon as you enter, you'll see lively crabs—you can pick your favorite. The ambiance is grand and elegant, perfect for treating friends.

A Japanese izakaya specializing in yakitori – Niao Kui (Torikai)

While izakayas are common in Xi'an, those focused on yakitori are rare. Stepping inside, the dim, warm lighting and neatly arranged sake bottles create a very cozy feeling. The simple Japanese wooden design makes you feel like you're in Japan.

A hotel with a free spirit – ZMAX Hotel

Within the district, there's a unique hotel: front desk plus bar, with craft beer as one of its highlights. As soon as you enter, a subtle fragrance greets you, soft background music plays, and the staff at the front desk are exceptionally polite.

ZMAX HOTELS · Xi'an Big Wild Goose Pagoda Beichitou Metro Station branch takes Xi'an's city wall as a creative motif. Through clever soft furnishings, it blends ZMAX's 'style' with Xi'an's local and cultural characteristics, creating a unique 'one hotel, one design' character.

ZMAX HOTELS · Xi'an Big Wild Goose Pagoda Beichitou Metro Station branch distilled the mottled, ancient tangible cultural heritage of Xi'an's 'city wall' as the main design element. In the lobby, they've built multi-faceted red brick walls, using light and shadow to create a unique spatial experience.

Unlike other hotels, the room types are named after 'one bed', 'two beds', and clothing sizes 'M, L, XL'. There are five room types to choose from.

The rooms may be compact but have everything you need. The beds are very comfortable, the rooms are smart, and keyless entry is super convenient. The value is excellent—usually just over 100 yuan per night. Getting such high-quality rooms at this prime location comes highly recommended.

The scent and toiletries at ZMAX HOTELS all have a specially customized hop fragrance.

Next to the hotel, there's also a super cool graffiti wall for photo ops. Quantum Chen district has countless spots to take photos.

A new haven for esports players – VSPN Esports Center

Quantum Chen sets itself apart from traditional commercial districts by focusing on esports, drawing the attention of young gamers. The over 4,000-square-meter VSPN Esports Center can host major esports events—it has successfully held the first PEL Peacekeeper Elite Professional League. With the atmosphere of esports events, this place will become a gathering spot for enthusiasts, and visiting Quantum Chen will become a popular choice for more young people.

As the only official venue in China for the PEL Peacekeeper Elite Professional League (the highest-standard and highest-prize-pool professional esports event in the country, with a season spanning over 200 days a year), VSPN Esports Center successfully hosted three editions of PEL from 2019 to 2021.

PEL Season 3 ended on October 3rd, and on October 21st, the 2021 PEL S4 season will ignite here. Chicken dinner lovers, don't miss it!

A temple of live music – Planet Factory Live House

Where there's trendiness, there's music. Nowadays, young people in Xi'an are increasingly demanding live music performances. Enjoying a favorite live show can relieve stress and relax the mind. Planet Factory, located in Quantum Chen, offers a massive 1,200-square-meter space for you to go wild, with regular music performances delivering the purest live experience. Planet Factory Live House is the largest, best-equipped, and acoustically superior interactive entertainment venue in the northwest, accommodating over 1,600 audience members.

At night, Quantum Chen sheds its daytime retro feel, and a modern vibe bursts forth. Candid shots of details become a recipe for great photos!

In summary, this is a gathering place for Xi'an's avant-garde youth and a spiritual fortress for the trendy crowd. The layout is relatively clear, so you won't get lost. It's not a straightforward, enclosed mall—such an open-air district gives you a sense of unfettered relaxation. When visiting Xi'an, definitely don't miss it.

Xi'an Quantum Chen (Metro Line 3, Beichitou Station)

Address: No. 446 Xiying Road, Yanta District

Near Quantum Chen, there are many famous Xi'an attractions, such as Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Grand Tang Dynasty Ever-Bright City, Xi'an Film Studio, Shaanxi History Museum, Tang Paradise, Qinglong Temple, etc.—all well worth visiting.

Ticket-free royal garden – Tang Paradise

As a must-visit spot in Xi'an, you can time-travel back to the Tang Dynasty during the day, experiencing its golden age in Tang Paradise. At night, admire the dazzling Tang nightscape—in one day, you'll feel the splendor of over 200 years of the prosperous Tang.

Xi'an Tang Paradise is China's first large-scale royal garden-style cultural theme park that comprehensively showcases the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty. Built north of the original Tang Dynasty Furong Garden site, it has set many records in Chinese and even world history.

Since 2020, Tang Paradise has implemented a ticket-free reservation system. This royal garden can be entered simply by scanning your ID card. It's a concentration of Tang culture, with various performances and cultural exhibition halls. Walking through the garden in Hanfu (traditional Chinese attire) gives you the feeling of traveling back to ancient times.

Rainbow dresses and feather robes smile for you, drifting like a dream she approaches.

Qujiang and Furong have been praised by people through the ages.

A thousand years ago, how many great poets of the Tang were born in your embrace.

A thousand years later, on your quiet stone paths,

I can still feel the rich poetic spirit.

Dreaming a thousand years, always come back to Chang'an.

Witness to the culture of the glorious Tang – Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Speaking of the ancient capital of thirteen dynasties, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is definitely an iconic landmark. The pagoda's sutra storage and the tradition of inscription (Jinshi nominations) have infused it with profound cultural heritage. It witnessed the flourishing of Buddhist culture in the Tang Dynasty and embodies the wisdom of ancient working people.

Xuanzang, originally surnamed Chen, became a monk at 13 and received full ordination at 21. He studied various schools deeply but, troubled by the conflicting teachings of Buddhist sects, resolved to go westward to seek the true Dharma. His journey lasted 17 years, covering 50,000 li. He brought back 520 bundles of Mahayana and Hinayana sutras, totaling 657 texts. Upon returning to Chang'an, he resided in Da Ci'en Temple and devoted himself to translating these scriptures brought from the Western Regions. Over 19 years, he translated 75 Buddhist texts in 1335 volumes. He also wrote 'The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions' in 12 volumes. Because he had translated so many sutras, a pagoda was built to store them—this is the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

Standing before the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, feel the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty. Though that glory has faded, today's grandeur remains.

The Grand Tang Dynasty Ever-Bright City Pedestrian Street, adjacent to Tang Paradise

This pedestrian street is steeped in culture, with a wide variety of artistic performances lined up. Grand theaters, concert halls, cinemas, and art galleries are everywhere you look. Every step reveals a new scene, and the crowds are bustling. Here, you'll find vendors and shop owners dressed in Tang costumes with antique hairstyles, street sculptures of Tang figures, and even a 'shouting spring' that changes with the sound level—the whole street echoes with shouts rising wave after wave...

I've been to many famous historic cities where the marks of history have been completely erased. Only in Xi'an has every rise and fall throughout history been preserved in various forms, enduring for thousands of years. It stands proudly and defiantly on the Guanzhong Plain, unyielding to wind and rain, through all changes.

Having lived in Xi'an for a long time, I often hear locals say: 'Coming to China without visiting Shaanxi is a waste; coming to Shaanxi without visiting Xi'an is a waste.' This shows how deeply this ancient city is rooted in the hearts of Xi'an people, ingrained in their bones and blood. The people and the city's history are intertwined, etched in every local's heart and inseparable.

In Xi'an, as long as you calm your mind, you can step into China's glorious history at any moment and breathe in the profound historical and cultural atmosphere of the Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties.

Friendly reminder: Xi'an can be crowded during the National Day holiday. Visitors from outside the province need a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours. Remember to check the weather before your trip so it won't disrupt your plans! Stay safe and have a happy National Day!

Xi'an Health Code: In Xi'an, whether taking the subway or bus, you need to scan and show the Xi'an citizen health code.

Transport tip: Currently, Xi'an's buses and subways accept mobile scan-to-pay, though you can still use cash to buy subway tickets or drop coins on buses.

Xi'an Metro operates Lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (Phase I), 9, and 14. Lines 2, 4, and 14 go directly to Xi'an North Railway Station, and Line 14 also goes directly to Xi'an Xianyang International Airport.

I'm Tiger's younger sister, everyone calls me Tiger Sister, a global traveler. The journey through mountains and rivers never ends—reading thousands of books must be paired with traveling thousands of miles. Follow me, and I'll show you the vibrant world.